During manufacturing, paper goods often have some form of coating applied thereon such as adhesives or inks which usually require some type of curing process. Examples of such coated paper goods include magazines, labels, stickers, prints, etc. The coatings are typically applied to the paper when the paper is in the form of a continuously moving web of paper. Current manufacturing methods of curing coatings on a moving web include subjecting the coatings to heat, UV light or electron beams.
When curing coatings on a moving web with electron beams, an electron beam system is usually positioned over the moving web. If the web has a large width, for example 50 inches or more, an electron beam system consisting of multiple electron beam devices is sometimes used to irradiate the full width of the web. The electron beam devices in such a system are staggered relative to each other resulting in a staggered pattern of electron beams that are separated from each other and provide full electron beam coverage across the width of the web only when the web is moving. The staggered arrangement is employed because, if multiple electron beam devices were positioned side by side, the electron beam coverage on a moving web would be interrupted with gaps between electron beams. A staggered arrangement is depicted in application Ser. No. 08/778,037, filed Jan. 2, 1997, the teachings of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.